Chris Fryer | The Saginaw NewsIvan Telegin has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, but there is an outside chance he could return to the Saginaw Spirit lineup this weekend.

The Saginaw Spirit embark on a three-game trek this weekend — stopping Friday in Guelph, Saturday in Belleville and Sunday in Oshawa — where they will see a trio of teams they are a combined 4-0 against so far.

But those three teams are also all fighting for playoff spots. And with the regular season two-thirds over, some teams on the outside looking in are already starting to get into playoff mode.

Guelph and Belleville currently six in ninth place in their respective conferences, Guelph in the West and Belleville in the East. Oshawa sits in seventh in the East. The top eight teams from each conference qualify for the OHL playoffs

So the Spirit are expecting a dogfight from each of the teams. Yet even for Saginaw, nothing’s a given as far as the playoffs. The Spirit currently sit in sixth place in the Western Conference — they have won 22 of 44 games played. And only four points separate the fifth place team (Sault Ste. Marie, 50 points) from the eighth place team (Owen Sound, 46 points)

“It’s not like we’re sitting locked into anything,” Spirit head coach Todd Watson said Tuesday. “So I would say we should be just as hungry as them. That’s how I look at it.”

The Spirit have a tendency as of late to play its best games against the league’s best teams, but struggle against teams lower in the standings. Case in point: Saginaw battled the East-leading Barrie Colts into the final minutes Sunday, before finally succumbing. They have beat both London and Kitchener so far in the second half. Yet the Spirit have also lost to Sault Ste. Marie and Erie in the second half.

“It doesn’t matter who it is,” Watson said. “We need points.”

Injury Updates

• Forward Garret Ross left Sunday’s game after taking a hit from Barrie’s Zac Rinaldo in the second period. On Monday’s Spirit radio show, Watson raised the possibility that Ross could be out for the season. He told the News Tuesday that he’s waiting more medical information before he knows for sure how long the rookie will be out of action. Ross has played in 38 of 44 games for the Spirit, totaling seven goals and four assists.

• Ivan Telegin, out for the last two games with an upper body injury, is “an outside shot” to play this weekend, Watson said. Telegin was scratched from Wednesday’s CHL/NHL Top Prospects game in Windsor.

• With the Spirit short on forwards, following the losses of Ross and Telegin, Watson said Tuesday the team would consider bringing players up from its system to help fill out this weekend’s roster, but hadn’t made any final decisions yet.

Words for Rinaldo

The Spirit have had some strong words for Rinaldo after a pair of hits in Sundays game — the first knocked forward Ross out of the game, and the second sent defenseman Peter Hermenegildo hard to the ice and earned Rinaldo a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct penalty.

Sunday’s incidents came after multiple incidents earlier this season between Rinaldo, then with London, and Saginaw. Spirit captain Tyler Murovich said after Sunday’s game that Rinaldo’s play throughout the season showed he “doesn’t have a lot of respect for the game.” Watson initially declined to comment on the incident after the game, but criticized the Barrie forward on his Monday radio show: “I think he’s a good player, I think he’s tough enough, but I think he acts like a coward,” Watson said.

Spirit Snapshot

Upcoming games

Saginaw at Guelph

Puck Drops: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Radio: WSGW-FM 100.5

Notes: These two clubs have played two close games this year, with Saginaw coming away with the win in both. Saginaw won its opener in Guelph in a shootout, and came from behind 4-1 in the second period to win 5-4 at home Jan. 8.

Saginaw at Belleville

Puck Drops: 7:05 p.m. Saturday

Radio: WSGW-FM 100.5

Notes: The Spirit spend could be shooting on Anthony Peters, the goaltender Saginaw traded to Belleville at the league’s trading deadline. If so, Peters will look to fare better than rookie Belleville goalie Tyson Teichmann did on Oct. 10, when Saginaw put up six goals in the first 27 in the teams’ only other meeting this year, an 8-3 win for Saginaw.

Saginaw at Oshawa

Puck Drops: 6:05 p.m. Sunday

Radio: WSGW-FM 100.5

Notes: If the Generals’ recent games are any indication, Sunday’s game could be close; Oshawa has gone to overtime in four of its last six games, and three of them continues to a shootout. The Generals won two of those shootouts. The Spirit didn’t have much trouble with Oshawa the first time around, dispatching the Generals 5-1 on Nov. 6.